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FEATURE
MAJOR CHANGES NEEDED IN FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATION
A CHANGE IS URGENTLY REQUIRED TO THE WORDING OF THE EXISTING BUILDING COMPLETION CERTIFICATE IN ORDER FOR IT TO HELP SAFEGUARD AGAINST MAJOR RESIDENTIAL FIRES SAYS JOE KENNEDY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SMITH & KENNEDY ARCHITECTS.
JOE KENNEDY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SMITH & KENNEDY ARCHITECTS
Fire safety in buildings has again become an area of major concern following on from the disaster in Grenfell Tower in London, and, more recently, the Metro Hotel fire in Ballymun.
If I ask people not directly involved in the building industry what a “fire safety certificate” is, most will reply that it is a certificate confirming the building is safe in relation to fire.
This is not an unreasonable assumption but it is not an accurate one. The certificate is issued at design stage and it confirms that if the building is built in accordance with the submission made to the local authority, it will be safe. That is a significant difference and renaming it a “fire safety design certificate” would at least bring more clarity to the public.
This goes to the heart of a difficulty with Ireland’s certification processes; we offer certs that the public is fully entitled to take at their word but that can – and probably do – mislead.
How certification works?
Since March 2014, a new comprehensive compliance certificate is mandatory for most building types. This cert is signed by the builder and an assigned certifier, a
professional from the private sector appointed to inspect the works. The effect of the certification wording is to advise anyone reading it that the building has been constructed in full compliance with the building regulations.
"SINCE MARCH 2014, A NEW COMPREHENSIVE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE IS MANDATORY FOR MOST BUILDING TYPES.”
As a registered architect, I have acted as assigned certifier on a number of projects and when I sign my name to a document that states “I certify...”, I do so with a degree of personal concern as I know, from years of
GRENFELL TOWER
In Ireland most buildings must have a fire safety certificate, but what does that mean?
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